Amazon in #BrandSpotlight – From Bookseller to World’s Largest Retailer

Mehreen Siddiqua Feb 9, 2016

The world knows how Amazon has redefined the business of online book selling. However, it is one of the few online businesses that has outgrown its own image. Currently Amazon is the world’s largest multinational ecommerce company that beats even eBay.

Amazon was the brainchild of Jeff Bezos and went online as Amazon.com in 1995. At that time, online book purchasing was not common, however, there was felt needs for it. The idea was well received. After that Amazon started adding new product categories every year and eventually Amazon’s market share captured one-third of US. ecommerce sales. The journey for excellence continued as Amazon acquired several small businesses and lean startups that started gaining traction. Some of the most commendable acquisitions by Amazon were: Alexa, IMDb, Zappos, Woot, Askville, Pets.com, and audible.com.

Surprisingly, it has just been 20 years for Amazon and they already have huge accomplishments under their belt. Amazon Kindle, the e-book reader; Amazon Studios, the online social movie studio; Amazon Warehouse deals that offers discounts on refurbished products; and Amazon Fresh that sells and delivers groceries in Seattle etc. These were initiatives from Amazon that are performing exceptionally well.

The e-business model used by Amazon is the pure play where business basis its operations completely on the internet and these businesses lack any physical store. Basically the pure play model has an advantage that it allows a lot of savings especially the seed investment or initial costs required to set up a business. However, what came as a bigger surprise was the fact that Amazon was able to form a better reach than Walmart that used the brick and mortar strategy.

Contrarily Amazon had the challenge to align itself with the evolving needs of the virtual environment and customize a shopping experience that is simple and reliable. How’d did it achieve that? Let’s take a closer look at the striking brick and click strategy and strong brand presence that allows Amazon to maintain the top spot.

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Mehreen is a social media buff and design blogger, who keeps a keen eye on graphic design trends. She has a passion for experimenting with design ideas, and wouldn’t mind if it means going out of her way to find them in Timbuktu. Follow her on twitter for daily inspirations and findings.
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